Many different devices are available for lifting and moving materials such as pieces of concrete or asphalt, trees or shrubs, and the like. Vehicles of various kinds can be used to manipulate these moving and lifting devices for prying, pushing, lifting, moving, and releasing such materials. In certain situations it is desirable to pry, lift and/or move larger materials, such as chunks of concrete, a tree with its root ball, or a stump, while sifting out smaller materials, such as gravel and soil. For example, when breaking up a concrete or asphalt pavement, it is typically desired to leave the underlayment in place for resurfacing. When uprooting a tree, shrub or stump, either for transplantation or removal, it is often desirable to leave much of the surrounding soil at the original site of the tree, shrub, or stump.
A variety of lifting and moving attachments are available for a vehicle such as a skid steer loader. One typical attachment is a bucket that can be used for digging, prying and lifting an object. Typical buckets lack length useful for gaining leverage in prying and have sides that prevent the bucket from being pushed a useful distance under, for example, a concrete slab. Furthermore, a bucket retains all material scooped, no matter its size. Pallet forks are useful for picking up objects with a wide, flat, and even base, but are not suited for penetrating beneath, prying and lifting a tree or pavement. Various devices for digging or grasping trees are not suitable for other general lifting and prying purposes.
There remains a need for an implement that can be attached to a vehicle such as a skid steer loader and that is suitable for lifting and prying, and allowing smaller objects to fall or be shaken out of the implement.